Published in 1964, and Released as an Audio Recording in 1966 on the Broadside Label, The Psychedelic Experience Was the Work of Three Men in the Vanguard of the Budding Psychedelic Revolution in the Mid-‘60s: Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Alpert

Described by Richard Nixon as “the Most Dangerous Man in America,” Timothy Leary Left his Professorial Position at Harvard to Launch a Lifelong Crusade to Bring Psychedelic Drugs into the Mainstream as a Therapeutic and Consciousness Raising Aid, and Became a Flash Point for the Entire Movement

Co-founder of The Green Earth Foundation, Ralph Metzner Has Been Advocating for the Use of Psychedelics for Over 45 years

Richard Alpert, Who Adopted the Name Ram Dass in the Late ‘60s, Penned the Seminal Book Be Here Now and Continues to Be a Spiritual Leader and Inspiration for Millions

The Psychedelic Experience Took the Themes of Death and Rebirth Presented in the Tibetan Book of the Dead as a Metaphor for the Ego Dissolution Experienced by Users of Psychedelic Drugs

The Work Reverberated Through out the Counterculture, Contributing the Lines “Turn Off Your Mind, Relax, and Float Downstream” in John Lennon’s Lyrics to “Tomorrow Never Knows”

In 1966, society was on the verge of a revolution in consciousness that would shake our culture, our morals, and our values to the core, a revolution mid- wifed by the introduction of psychedelic drugs to a new generation eager to cast away the stifling con- formity of the ‘50s and early ‘60s. In the vanguard of this change were the three men who composed The Psychedelic Experience: Timothy Leary, Ralph Met- zner, and Richard Alpert. Described by Richard Nixon as “the most dangerous man in America,” Timothy Leary left his professorial position at Har- vard to launch a lifelong crusade to bring psyche- delic drugs into the mainstream as a therapeutic and consciousness raising aid, and became a flash point for the entire movement. Co-founder of The Green Earth Foundation, Metzner has been advocating for the use of psychedelics for over 45 years. And Richard Alpert, who adopted the name Ram Dass in the late ‘60s, penned the seminal book Be Here Now and continues to be a spiritual leader and inspiration for millions. Together, the three men authored the book The Psychedelic Experience, which took the themes of death and rebirth presented in the Tibetan Book of the Dead as a metaphor for the ego dissolution experi- enced by users of psychedelic drugs. Presented as an audio recording for the Broadside label in 1966, The Psychedelic Experience reverberated throughout the emerging counterculture; for example, John Lennon took the phrase “turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream” for his song “Tomorrow Never Knows” from the work. Now, on the 50th anniversary of the release of The Psy- chedelic Experience album, Real Gone Music is proud to present this enor- mously influential recording on psychedelic magenta splatter vinyl in a limited edition (of 1750) package that features the original release’s 4-page insert and vintage album graphics. This was, in essence, the first audio guide to taking LSD (the album’s two tracks are simply entitled “Going Out” and “Coming Back”); it’s one of the first shots in the revolution that resulted in The Summer of Love. Turn on, tune in, drop out.